Deciding to build a home from scratch is no small feat and is not for the faint-hearted, but if you know what you want then building your own house can give you your dream home.
The first thing to do is look at a site to build on. This is an important aspect of your decision as it can impact both the design and cost of your build.
‘The site of your build can make a big difference, in the ability to achieve an approval, as well as the cost to construct and operate the house,’ says Craig Adams, Director of CA Construction Management and non-solicitor director of Castrikum Adams Legal.
‘Approvals (whether council or private certifier) require specific compliance in matters such as building heights, floor space ratios (the building footprint), setbacks, landscaping and open space, vehicular access and parking, privacy for you and neighbours, solar access, fencing, earthworks, stormwater management and ecological factors including maintaining existing native trees.’
Local builder Chris King from Chris King Constructions agrees, telling Echo Property that ‘a challenging site such as a steep block will cost more and limit design potential and things like site access can also impact build costs.’
Energy efficiency, access to services, and how long the road you will need to build to access a particular site are important points of consideration when you are looking to buy a property to build your own home on.
‘Buildings that are heavily shaded do not receive sufficient sunlight to the living areas, nor offer access to solar power. This will decrease the energy efficiency of the building, requiring additional heating and cooling to achieve comfortable conditions for the occupants,’ explained Mr Adams.
Looking at the size of the site, how much usable space there is available for the build as well as recreation need to be considered.
‘Siting of a house is important for compliance, but also to provide the owners with a pleasant area to relax and use for recreation,’ said Mr Adams.
Get the right people on board
You can design your own home yourself or look for an off-the-plan model but whichever way you decide to go getting key people on board early is important.
‘Designing a functional and efficient house which works well for your needs and also looks good is worth investing in. My advice is do not skimp on design, it will reward you later,’ said Mr King.
Working out the best way to ustilise your site, build a house that meets your needs, and ensure you address the wide range of requirements from putting in a development application (DA) to how you work out your finishing touches takes a significant amount of knowledge. Mr Adams reminds anyone wanting to build their own house that ‘having an expert provide their expertise for your benefit’ is key.
‘An architect or building designer is trained to provide a design that is not only compliant with the regulations (of which there are many), but also to tailor the design to the location, the site, orientation, your preferred finishes and recommend material solutions that are cost-effective or enhance the finished product,’ Mr Adams explained.
‘If you are looking for a basic square box, or simple (cheaper) project home, then buying a pre-made plan can offer cost efficiencies. However, if you buy a pre-made solution, costs will increase if you amend the plan to suit location, orientation or finishes. When considering a pre-made plan, this is usually provided by the builder who offers “their” take on the ideal design, however, this is often tailored to cost and construction simplicity.
‘Where the house of your dreams needs significant custom arrangements, seek the help and guidance of a professional. Always take the view, especially with building your dream home, that you want to “start the way you mean to finish”, which may require careful planning, extensive detailing and understanding how the finished product will look.’
Getting a DA
Once you have your house designed then you need to put your DA in to your local council – a process that can take anything from three to 18 months. To keep the length of time for approval down having all the relevant material in order is vital. If you don’t have the required documents then this will delay the process and your local council will be coming back to you asking for more information or the DA will be refused.
Both Mr King and Mr Adams agree that a basic DA will cost up to around $5,000 – the costs and charge are set down on your local council’s website.
‘For example the fees for a dwelling in Byron Shire are determined by the value of the construction cost. We have based this example on a construction cost of $1,000,000. An application will depend upon the type of assessment required, based upon the location of the property, zoning of the land, building type, road access, connection to water and sewer, inclusion of a swimming pool and any requirements for advertising,’ explained Mr Adams.
‘A basic application will be in the order of $3,000 – $5,000 for the development consent. Once that is approved a construction certificate is required, with an estimate (based upon the example), along with the fees charged for the completion certificate, likely to be in the order of $3,000 – $4,000.
‘Be mindful that to achieve a compliant submission, the cost of the architect/designer is only part of the submission. You will require a town planner, structural engineer, a geotechnical engineer, landscape designer and a BASIX consultant, as a minimum. Additional consultants that may be required include experts in ecology, hydraulic engineering (sewer/water/ stormwater), heritage, parking and vehicular movements (civil), ground contamination, surveyor, bushfire, acoustics, flooding and electrical services.
‘The cost of the consultants is likely to be in the order of $20,000 – $50,000, depending upon the requirements to be satisfied and the complexities of the site and the building. This is often similar to what a “project home” builder will charge for their services, after contracting with you and prior to achieving an approval. More complex designs, or sites that are challenged by ecology, structural engineering and bushfire can see consultant costs of up to $60,000 – $80,000.’
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